Looking back on my thirty years of research about right-wing extremism in the United States, I offer several principles to guide how our field approaches conservative activism in these perilous times. First, I discuss how the causes of right-wing movements are different from other movements. Their goals center on preserving privileges that are slipping away, rather than fighting for privileges historically denied to constituents. This key difference forces us to reconsider the causal role of grievances in the emergence of collective action. Second, rightwing movements are about power. Power is most effective in maintaining dominance when it is not visible. Right-wing mobilization signals a failure to maintain dominance in ways that conceal exploitative relationships. Third, power devaluation theory provides guidance on specifying ways that threats and grievances lead to right-wing mobilization. Finally, the status component of Weber’s class-status-power trinity is especially relevant for understanding the rise of rightwing movements. My current research considers how socially constructed status hierarchies of race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, citizenship, and religion shape the contours of political divisions in American politics. Apropos of the last point, findings demonstrate the importance of status-preservation goals in structuring political behavior. In the near future it seems that such goals will continue to animate right-wing extremism and pose a threat to democratic governance and efforts to generate equality and a more peaceful world.

回顾我对美国右翼极端主义三十年的研究，我提出了几条原则来指导我们的领域如何在这个危险的时期处理保守派激进主义。首先，我讨论右翼运动的原因与其他运动有何不同。他们的目标集中在维护正在消失的特权，而不是争取历史上被剥夺的特权。这一关键差异迫使我们重新考虑不满情绪在集体行动出现中的因果作用。其次，右翼运动是关于权力的。当权力不可见时，它对于维持统治地位最为有效。右翼动员标志着未能以掩盖剥削关系的方式维持主导地位。第三，权力贬值理论为明确威胁和不满导致右翼动员的方式提供了指导。最后，韦伯的阶级-地位-权力三位一体的地位组成部分对于理解右翼运动的兴起尤其重要。我目前的研究考虑了社会构建的种族、性别、性取向和性别认同、公民身份和宗教的地位等级如何塑造美国政治中政治分歧的轮廓。关于最后一点，研究结果表明了地位保护目标在构建政治行为中的重要性。在不久的将来，这些目标似乎将继续煽动右翼极端主义，并对民主治理以及创造平等和更和平世界的努力构成威胁。